Drought in MONTAGUE, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-05 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-05 23:59:00 (CST)
Crop damage: 120M
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Devastating drought conditions continued through December.  The area of extreme drought (D3) as classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor expanded to include roughly the northeast quarter of the state of Texas.  For the first time since the drought began in May, an area of exceptional drought (D4) was introduced into the Drought Monitor.  This is the most severe classification of drought and included a large area of north Texas, including the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.  Dallas/Fort Worth ended the year at 15.76 inches below normal, while Waco was 10.09 inches below normal, making this the worst drought in north Texas since the 1950s.  Collin, Delta, Fannin, Hopkins, Lamar, and Rains Counties were declared natural disaster areas due to extreme drought conditions.  Requests for disaster drought declarations were also pending for numerous other north Texas counties.Wildfires were a significant threat across north Texas in December.  A combination of warm dry conditions, strong winds, dormant vegetation, and continuing drought created favorable conditions for the fires, which authorities believe were started primarily by people ignoring fire bans, burning trash, shooting fireworks, and throwing out cigarettes.  The Texas Interagency Coordination Center reported that federal, state, and local fire crews fought 13 fires over 879 acres in Texas on December 18 alone.  Through December 22, the state recorded a total of 676 fires involving 30,441 acres.  Governor Rick Perry asked for federal disaster declarations after several dozen fires burned on December 27-28.  According to the state emergency management agency, fires on Dec. 27-28 destroyed more than 100 buildings across Texas, including 78 homes.  Because of widespread drought conditions, outdoor burning bans were in effect in 104 of the state's 254 counties, and 86 counties banned aerial fireworks for the 11-day fireworks season that ran through New Year's Day.According to the Texas Cooperative Extension, the monetary damages for the 2005 drought have been estimated at $60 million for north central Texas.  The federal government estimated that the national net farm income for 2005 was down nearly $11 billion from 2004, with losses in Texas accounting for a significant portion of the decline.  Hay and pasture losses were estimated at 70% by the Farm Service Agency.  Due to the hay shortage, prices drastically increased, and feeding costs reportedly went up at least 50%.  Ranchers were forced to feed their livestock supplemental hay and protein for an extra three to five months.  Farmers also sold lighter calves for lower prices because they did not have enough grazing for the winter.  The remaining lighter calves will also bring a lower price next year.  In addition, ranchers struggled with dwindling water supplies as stock tanks throughout Texas ran low.  Many lakes in north Texas were 10 to 15 feet below normal pool elevation.The drought also caused numerous other problems, including cracked foundations and an increase in  pest problems, as animals looked indoors for food.